Majority of Irish drivers “back speed cameras”

A new survey suggests most Irish road users are supportive of the use of speed cameras on the country’s roads.

According to AA Ireland, 70% of motorists support the continued use of cameras in order to minimise speeding and reduce fatalities.

The poll of 6,000 people found 46.97% of those polled stated that they strongly support the widespread use of speed cameras as part of efforts to improve road safety, while a further 31.24% are “somewhat supportive”.

A majority of respondents believe speed cameras directly benefit road safety efforts. 74.68% of respondents agreed with the idea that speed cameras played a directly role in improving road safety, with 37.51% strongly agreeing with this message.

“For those of us working in the area of road safety it’s certainly great to see that a strongly majority of motorists remain supportive of the use of speed cameras and efforts to reduce incidents on Irish roads,” said Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs. “While there remains a degree of scepticism that the primary point of speed cameras is to generate revenue for the government of private companies involved this simply isn’t true.

“The costs to government and companies involved in the deployment of speed cameras is significantly higher than the revenue generate from fines, so if it was designed to be a money-making system it’s a particularly bad one. This technology exists to help improve road safety and it’s clear that a strong majority of motorists can see the benefits of using speed cameras. ”

Despite the support for speed cameras, the AA research also identified some concern on behalf of motorists over the under-utilisation of these cameras in Ireland.

When presented with the prompt “I am personally aware of at least one location where I would recommend that a speed camera be installed,” over a third (34.99%) of motorists stated that they agreed completely. In additional a further quarter of those surveyed (24.57%) partially agreed with this message.

“Road safety needs to be a priority all year round, but it’s true that the next few months represent a particularly dangerous time on the roads. While it’s ultimately the responsibility of the motorists to self-police when it comes to their speed, speed cameras help to reinforce this behaviour so having more cameras visible on our roads would be welcome,” Faughnan added. “Whether there is a speed camera present or not on any given road, it’s important that motorists not only stick to the limit but adjust their driving accordingly when either road or weather conditions require you to do so.”